A New View
by ElStzl
Summary: Following "The Truth". Anna moves forward with some help from an interesting source. AnnaRyan.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not, I repeat, not, own any of the characters you see here. Because if I did, that would mean I owned Summer, and I clearly would have no time for foolish endeavors like writing. Or school. Or clothing.

A/N: Hola. This is fic #2 for me, and this one's a little out of my wheelhouse of internal angst. The idea simply arose from something I noticed in "The Truth", along with some other fic I've read. Chapter 1 is more or less a table-setter for upcoming events. We'll see how it goes. Critiques/reviews are always welcome.

* * *

Amid the quiet murmurs of the library, Anna looked up from her notebook and checked her watch: 1:52 pm, time to get to AP Calculus. As she gathered up her books into her bag and slipped out into the buzzing hallway, she breathed in deeply and braced herself. By this point, she had the entire routine down to a science: she knew Seth would be meeting Summer by their lockers and walking her to class, and had found a route to avoid crossing paths. She would be in her seat at the rear of the classroom in three minutes and thirty seconds, well before the lovebirds made their giggling, quipping entrance, at which point Anna would have her eyes focused on her notes and her ears occupied with her iPod. 

_God, how much more pathetic can it get_, she thought as she strode among the throngs of bustling teenagers, dodging and sidestepping the vapid bimbos and the slack-jawed jocks that skipped along like life was so fucking simple…like the biggest problems in their glittering world was which beach house was hosting this weekend's blowout, which moron was bringing the booze and the coke, and which skank was going to spread her legs for the noble cause of momentary high-school popularity.  She snorted in mock amusement at herself: she really had become bitter over the past two weeks. Newport had never sat well with her, and now she couldn't even talk to the only person who she really felt understood the ridiculousness of this wealthy slice of hell. She had no one to quietly mock the nonsensical conversation she overheard two water-polo players having as she waited on line for her lunch yesterday. She had nobody to gush to about the amazing live Bright Eyes concert CD she found at the record store over the weekend. She had no one to debate over how the trailer for the new Punisher movie made it look like there was going to be another butchering of a classic comic.

She had wept enough, cried herself sick that night she returned home from the Cohens' house after the whole Oliver thing climaxed. She had told herself that she was above the typical teenage girl response, was beyond blaming herself over Seth's blind spot for Summer. She had convinced herself that she was not the problem, that she had tried to be as good a girlfriend as she could to him as possible. Hell, she had more or less let him dictate the way she dressed and what she ate…there wasn't much she wouldn't have done to make what they had work. But it just became too clear: there wasn't much she could have done to make what they had work. Summer had won, had won before there was ever a contest. And Anna wasn't even that upset with her…for all of her flaws, Summer actually had more substance about her than the vast majority of these Newport brats, and she didn't wish any tremendous misfortune in her direction.

Which wasn't to say Anna wasn't nauseated at the sight of the two together strolling down the hall that Monday morning.

It had hardly taken 24 hours for them to get together.

She had quickly developed a new pattern for her days, consciously steering clear of as many places and situations where she knew she'd have to encounter them as she possibly could. Lunch at the Student Union was out – food was either eaten in the library or at the lit mag office, and that was only if she didn't hop in her car and go off-campus. Any and all Newport social functions were a no-go. Not that she was going to miss those. She couldn't even go to the comic-book store on her normal schedule, since Summer's new "interest" had led to Seth dragging her along with him during all the times they had established since school started. And for two weeks, it had worked: there had been no awkward meetings, no uncomfortable conversations, and no Summer-contrived face-offs where she could gloat about her crushing triumph. And she was feeling a little better with herself every day that she made it through: who knows – just another couple of weeks and perhaps this all would fade and she could get back to her life.

A quick glance at her watch: 1:55. She was turning the corner to get to the classroom when a bright peal of laughter halted her gait cold. Anna felt as if the house lights suddenly went down at the theater, everyone else took their seats, and the curtain rose to reveal Seth and Summer strolling down the hallway together, arms wrapped around each other's waists. There was no other motion, no other sound as the two stopped right beside the door, Summer leaning back against the wall and pulling Seth up against her by his shirt. The grin that spread over his face would have lit up the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Plaza as he gazed down at her, slowly lowering his head and pressing his lips to hers. His hands slid down to her hips as she wrapped her arms around his neck, their bodies pressing together as they kissed each other like they were in the final scene of some romantic comedy and had overcome all obstacles to realize they were fated to be together, like there was nobody else in the school, like nothing outside the two of them mattered…

Anna felt the air being sucked out of her lungs, her stomach wrapping into about eight different knots as she stood there, unable to move. _He never looked at me like that…he never smiled at me like that…he certainly never kissed me like that, _her mind said. Her vision began to blur, and suddenly the rest of the scene was back in motion, students hustling through the hallway, talking, laughing, yelling, heels clicking, lockers slamming. Her legs began to tremble, she felt her shoulders tensing, her head burning, chills running down her spine…and as they separated and Seth gently cupped Summer's cheek in his hand, her heart shattered. She choked back a sob, covering her mouth with one hand as she spun on her heel and took off down the intersecting hallway.

Biting on the inside of her lip, trying desperately not to break down in the middle of school, she slalomed through the mass of humanity, ducking and weaving her way past faceless individuals, careening down the halls as fast as she could without running. _Three turns,_ she thought, _two minutes and you'll be in the parking lot and in your car and to your house and out of this fucking place forever._ She wheeled around the first corner with her head down and clipped someone passing by, spinning down and landing hard on her right hip; her eyes welled up as the dam broke, the upheaval of emotions flooding her being. Ignoring whomever she hit, she tried to scramble back to her feet before hearing a deep, slightly breathless, "Hey". 

She paused for a heartbeat, still not looking back, but then felt a strong, rough hand grasp gently at her wrist. Her eyes closed slowly, trying to squeeze back the tears before turning her head and gazing up at Ryan, who was now bent over her fallen body.

"Anna, I'm so sorry…are you ok?" he asked.

She sniffed softly, lowering her head as she murmured, "Yeah, fine. Sorry, should have been watching where I was going," while she allowed him to help her off the cold linoleum floor. She brushed herself off and straightened up while Ryan picked up her bag and the books that had scattered in the fall. Taking them from him without looking up, she started to turn away.

"What's wrong, Anna?" he inquired.

She swallowed another sob before answering, "Nothing. Thanks for, um…I've got to go."

"Doesn't appear to be nothing," he responded, his firm tone clearly asserting he wasn't convinced.

_Shit, he's perceptive,_ Anna thought. She spun back around, looking up at the ceiling as she spoke, "Whatever, it doesn't matter, I'm leaving and I'm never setting foot in this goddamn school again, so thanks again and have a nice life," but before she could move his hand was on her shoulder.

"Anna," he said quietly.

Sighing heavily, she shifted her weight onto her right foot and lowered her gaze to him. His sky-blue eyes were locked in on her, and she was thrown slightly by the obvious concern in them.

A moment passed before he spoke again, "Look, I was going to go get some lunch…come along."

Chewing the corner of her lip as she held his gaze, raising a hand to brush the tears from her eyes, she stammered, "No, I…I can't stay here, Ryan…I've g-got to be, somewhere, anywh-where but here…"

"Hey, it's ok…then I'll take you somewhere we can eat…CPK's right down the street, and um, I could go for a BLT pizza right now," he offered.

Anna sniffled softly, her eyes closing as she lowered her chin to her chest. A heavy silence filled the now-empty hallway, and after a long pause, she nodded gently.

Without another word, Ryan delicately stroked his hand down her back and guided her, the two heading for the parking lot.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1. Still holds true. Especially the part about Summer.

A/N: Well, this one took a while to come together, but I think it's better. Still trying to feel my way through the execution of the idea, but I hope it passes muster. As always, critiques/reviews are humbly accepted.

**********************

From a distance, it would be hard to tell that the two young people sitting in the booth at California Pizza Kitchen knew each other at all: the boy slowly eating his BLT pizza, glancing occasionally across the table at the girl who hadn't looked up since they sat down, idly pushing the contents of her half White Balsamic Provencal salad around her plate with a fork. Neither had spoken since the waiter asked them for their orders. While the rest of the establishment hummed with activity, that one booth appeared stuck in a freeze-frame.

Ryan broke the silence, "So can I assume that you weren't running away from a pop quiz?"

Anna said nothing, only closed her eyes and sank back in her seat. Another thirty seconds elapsed before he spoke again.

"Look, Anna, I'm sorry…I feel like this is somehow my fault, in a way…"

"It's not," she piped up quietly, her throat rough and scratchy.

"No, if I…if I hadn't pushed you back at the carnival, maybe things with you two would have worked themselves out over time. You were probably right then to leave it the way it was…"

"Ryan, it's not your fault," she said. Glancing across the table under heavy eyelids, she looked at Ryan, who was staring down at his plate. She swallowed slowly, clearing her throat before sitting forward and taking a forkful of the salad into her mouth.

Another long pause ensued, the two eating at an unhurried pace. Ryan, of all people, understood that sometimes people just needed to be left alone and allowed to speak when they were ready.

"They just looked so…perfect," she said abruptly. "It's as if …I wasn't even there…like I meant absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of this whole thing. I mean, we were hardly broken up for a day and they were walking around like the perfect fucking couple…"

Ryan looked up, cast his gaze over at Anna…she had stopped eating, was simply staring at a spot above her plate: he could see the tears rolling down her cheek. Pursing his lips together, he simply watched her, unsure of what he could say.

Anna could feel him looking, but refused to look up while she was crying…slowly reaching for a napkin and wiping gently around her eyes, she sighed deeply before continuing, "I guess it's no big deal now…if I talk to my parents tonight, I could probably be at Pacific or somewhere else in a week."

"Hmmm," was Ryan's only response. He slowly shifted in his seat, measuring his words before speaking, "Are you sure that's what you should do?"

"What am I supposed to do, Ryan? Come to school every day with a blindfold on, or subject myself to emotional torture every time I see them around campus? There's nothing left for me at Harbor!" her voice beginning to rise. 

He kept his tone soft as he answered, "I mean…all I'm saying is that you can't go through life running from these sorts of things. I know this has to be ripping you apart inside, but quitting the situation isn't the answer."

Anna spat back, "Well you still have your best friend. The only person I cared about is now off with his dream girl, completely unconcerned with how I feel…how am I supposed to deal with that? What do you expect me to do, hang out with all those whiny little drama queens like Marissa? Those attention-craving airheads, the brain-dead party girls who define themselves by how many guys they can hook up with, the ones that think the entire fucking world revolves around getting the new Prada clutch? I can't…" she stammered as her mind finally caught up with her mouth, realizing what she had just said. A gasp escaped her lips before she brought her hand to her mouth and felt shame running through her body.  She glanced up at Ryan, found his eyes closed, his face cold, expressionless.

"Oh my god, Ryan…I'm, so sorry…I didn't…I was just…" Anna struggled to find the words, feeling the tears reemerging in her eyes. She sat back against the seat and hung her head, astounded at her completely uncaring rant.

His voice was calm as he spoke, "It's alright, Anna."

"No it's not," she whispered hoarsely. "That was inconceivably inconsiderate of me…not only did I just disparage your girlfriend after you've done nothing but try to make me feel better, I've also completely neglected to even ask you how you've been doing…here I am, losing it over some boy, when you went face-to-face with a gun-wielding psychotic. God, I can't believe how selfish you must think…"

"Anna, it's ok. I can imagine how upset you are, and I know what it's like to have to just vent it out…well, I normally just end up hitting people, but you get the idea," he said softly. 

She chuckled nervously, pressing her hand to her eyes trying to brush back the tears before looking up again: this time she was met by Ryan's gaze back at her, that deep, penetrating look he had clearly been practicing…or maybe it was just a gift, because it would take inordinate amounts of practice to perfect that, mesmerizing, as if he was probing your soul through your eyes…_Um, honey, not to interrupt, but you're staring_, Anna's mind quietly mentioned. She shook her head quickly and looked away, feeling slightly embarrassed. 

After a few heavy moments, the two resumed their meal, and eventually began conversing, just catching up on what each other had been doing. Anna was a little surprised at how much Ryan talked, given his legendary reticence: he told her about the aftermath of the penthouse ordeal, how he and Marissa were on the rocks, even mentioned his friend Theresa from back in Chino. She didn't ask many questions as he spoke, knowing through Seth how Ryan would pretty much automatically shut down when the Cohens tried to pry things out of him. Picking her way through the salad, she found herself drawn into watching Ryan eat…the way he used a knife and fork with his pizza, the flash of his teeth when he took a bite, the momentary pause where he always left the fork in between his lips before taking it out. She actually had to blink and regroup as Ryan asked her the occasional question.

They finished and paid for their food, and Ryan went for the car as she washed up. When she slipped into the silver BMW her parents had passed down to her when they got the newer model, Ryan spoke up, "So I'm guessing you want to go home?"

She sighed and nodded, before snapping back to attention, "What am I talking about, you have to go back to Harbor…let's just go back, if I don't feel up to it I'll just leave from there."

"Ah, forget it, I only had study hall after lunch, no big deal," was his response.

Anna shrugged, letting Ryan drive as he had on the way there. The ride was fairly quiet, Ryan focusing on the road, Anna staring vacantly out the passenger window; the only dialogue was how to get to her house. They pulled up into the driveway in about ten minutes, and Ryan walked her to the front door.

As she opened the door, she heard his voice behind her, "So listen, I know the decision is yours and all, but…I hope you decide not to leave."

Anna felt a bit of a blush creep over her cheeks as she stood there, took a deep breath and turned around to face him. Fighting the urge to look into his eyes, she instead stared at her feet as she cleared her throat and spoke, "Thank you, Ryan…for everything…it meant a lot." Suddenly she took a step forward and hugged him tightly, standing on her tiptoes to wrap her arms around his neck. She felt him return the embrace gently, his hand patting on her shoulder softly…after what seemed like an eternity, she realized that she was still holding him and stepped back, inhaling softly. She walked into her door before looking back out with a gasp.

"Oh my god, Ryan, how are you getting back to your house? Let me give you a lift," she said.

He gave her a little half-smile as he said, "No big deal. It's probably about a half-hour walk, forty-five minutes…I could use the time."

Anna leaned against the doorframe as she watched him turn and sling his bag over his shoulder while shuffling down the walkway. He turned around and look back, and she gave him a little wave before closing the door.

**********************

She could feel his fingertips gliding along her hips, the slightly coarse texture sending shivers through her as he reached under her shirt and caressed her smooth skin…could feel him pressing her back against the nearest wall, her hips arching to meet his, desperate for contact with his body… could hear him whispering throatily into her ear as he opened her shirt, her legs straddling his thigh and grinding down…could feel her arms wrapped up under his and her hands gripped at his muscular shoulders, trying to pull him closer…could taste the sweat on his skin as she leaned in and sucked at his neck, the heat driving her wild…could hear the moaning, the panting, the cursing, the screaming, the gasping…could see the crystal-blue eyes locked into hers…

Anna jolted up into a seated position, frantically looking around her, disoriented by the dark: slowly she grasped that she was in her room, in her bed. She looked down to her hands and found them gripping the sheets so tightly her knuckles were turning white. Blinking rapidly, she forced herself to open her fingers and willed herself out of the bed; once her feet hit the floor, she hustled into the bathroom adjoined to her bedroom, flicking the light switch as she stood before the vanity mirror. What she saw stunned her: her face flushed down to the neck, sweat glistening on her skin, pupils glassy and dilated…as she breathed heavily, her mind made the connection and realization dawned on her. She turned the faucet and lowered her head, splashing freezing water over her face briskly before looking back into the mirror. _Holy shit,_ her mind whispered…

_You are in a world of trouble now, girl._


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: In Chapter 1. Ya'll know who owns what.

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews. It just occurred to me that when people ask questions in their reviews, they may be expecting answers…so Nysha: you are correct. Benzbabidoll: I appreciate the sentiment, but Past Self is done…that was a specific piece, and now that I go back and read it, I'm thrilled with the way it wrapped itself up. But don't fret, I'm sure there's more Ryan!Angst fic in the future.

Chapter 3 is a tad longer than my normal, but I actually like it. Hope you folks do too.

********************

Reaching over to slap at the alarm clock for the sixth time, Anna finally bothered to open her eyes and check the time: 10:45 am, right in the middle of third period. She groaned as she rolled over and sat up on the edge of her bed, assessing the situation…she had the earphones to her iPod still in her ears, her sketchbook was open with a couple of pencils nestled in the spiral binding. She remembered leaving the bathroom last night, terrified to go back to sleep, and apparently had decided to occupy her mind as well as could be done until she crashed. Looking down at the open page, the sketch she had been working on was a cityscape, towers and apartments and riverbanks…it looked similar to Pittsburgh, but not quite. Sighing as she closed up the book and placed it back on her shelf, Anna wished she was back there now, back where her life was blissfully simple: she knew everything back home, how to handle herself, how to handle the boys…never would she have found herself in this mess.

And this…was an absolute mess. A dirty, messy, raw, unmitigated disaster.

She shuffled downstairs and fixed herself a light breakfast, nibbling at the fruit salad she had left in the fridge from a couple mornings prior. As she scanned the kitchen table she spotted a note from her father with an envelope attached.

"Annie, Mom and I are off to the conference in LA – will be back Sunday night. Be good, and call us at some point. Love, Dad."

Anna smiled as she opened the envelope, leafing idly through the cash her father had left. No parentals was a big plus right now: the last thing she needed right now was a lecture about being late to school, or even worse, having to discuss why she was moping around the house in the first place. While her parents were good, earnest, caring people and she loved them both, Anna still had not totally forgiven them for moving her out here – things had thawed quite a bit since the summer, but she was still in no way ready to go into this…whatever this was…with them. Washing down her food with a glass of milk, she decided not to even bother showing up at Harbor today. Hell, it was Friday, and she needed to get a handle on herself before she completely went mental.

She padded back to her room and took a long, cool shower: even with her head swirling, she knew better than to risk a hot one right now, lest her mind go places that it shouldn't. After drying off and fixing up her hair, she searched her closet for something to wear as she pondered how to keep busy for the next few hours. Pushing aside a row of tops, she came across the tennis racquet her father had gotten her when they moved – a silver and purple Prince NXG Graphite OS, professionally strung and fitted for her. Anna was a firm believer in the advantages in physical exertion for stress relief, so she pulled out the racquet and located her workout clothes, a form-fitting pair of poly-blend sweats, a sports bra and a light pink tank top: her mother would have harped on her to wear the tennis whites, but she was in absolutely no mood for a skirt right now. 

_There's someone you'd wear that skirt for…probably would get a damn good workout, too_, her mind chimed in. 

_Shut it_, she thought…._ I'll worry about that later._

********************

An hour later, Anna strolled from the locker room down to the tennis courts at the Newport Country Club, shielding her eyes from the sun as she looked around the grounds. She tried to avoid this place like the plague, but it was her best option at the moment; all she really wanted was to find a hitting wall to practice against, as she hadn't so much as picked up the racquet since before Thanksgiving. But, of course, one of her mother's Newpsie acquaintances just had to see her and traipse over.

"Oh, Anna, how good to see you! How are your parents, your mother hasn't called me in ages!" was the chirpy greeting as the woman embraced her.

Suppressing her disdain, Anna worked up a smile and answered, "Hi, Mrs. Lambert. Mom and Dad are fine, just busy…they're at that seminar in Los Angeles this weekend."

The woman smirked and remarked, "So that's why you're at the club at 1:00 on a school afternoon..."

"Oh, no, well, I haven't been feeling well the past couple of days, but I'm doing a little better and was tired of being houseridden, you know?" Anna retorted, already weary of the encounter.

"Well then, I see you're ready to play some tennis, and I'm looking for a match, so let's go!"

_Oh, spare me,_ Anna thought. "Um, I think I just want to hit a few practice strokes…. it's been a while since I've played."

Mrs. Lambert elbowed her playfully in the shoulder. "Oh, indulge me, sweetie. Your folks are always bragging about how good their little girl was back east…I'm constantly searching for someone that can keep up with me around here."

Violent thoughts were abounding in Anna's head as she cursed herself for leaving her room, subjecting herself to this forty-year-old's bragging…and then all of a sudden, a smirk spread on her lips that she had to bite back subtly.

"Well, alright, Mrs. Lambert, I'll try to keep up…but you have to take it easy on me."

"Of course, honey…we're just playing a friendly game…"

********************

Anna had to hold back another grin an hour later as she shook hands with Mrs. Lambert, who was panting softly and looking thoroughly whipped. The "friendly game" had turned into a royal rout, and Anna had enjoyed it immensely. She thought back to when she was the champion in her age bracket at the club in Pittsburgh, all the matches she had won, and this one probably felt much more gratifying: in two sets, Anna lost a grand total of five points, all of which were results of her hitting the ball so hard it either clipped the net and bounced out or flew past the baseline. The old woman had almost face-planted about three times, stumbling around like a drunken clown as Anna relentlessly drilled shot after shot right by her.

Toweling off the sweat from her arms and shoulders as she walked back to the valet station, Anna could feel her mind clearing of the haze she'd been operating under since yesterday at school. _This is good_, she thought while she tipped the valet and slid into the Beamer, _now maybe I can sort this whole thing out_. Opening the sunroof as she took off down the driveway and back onto the street, she drove down to the boardwalk, letting the Bright Eyes CD take up the ride. 

********************

If there was one thing about Southern California that Anna didn't hate, it was clearly the weather: while snow was always fun every once in a while, who could argue against 75 degrees and brilliant sunshine in February? Sitting on a bench along one of the piers away from the restaurants and shops, she soaked up the warm rays while working idly on the cityscape sketch, simply touching up details and shading around the edges. She liked the way it was developing, but her mind was clearly focused elsewhere.

_"Wait. Are you the kid Chino who steals cars and sets people's houses on fire? So you're saying I'm making my debut into society with Newport's most wanted?"_

_"Is that going to be a problem?"_

_"I can't wait."_

She sat back against the bench and closed her eyes: the truth was that she really had been looking forward to spending Cotillion with someone other than a Ken-doll, wannabe-frat-boy surfer type. And it didn't hurt that he was hot on top of that…like, really hot. It was painfully obvious that he had a thing for Marissa, but she figured it to be typical hormone-driven teenage lust.

_" Seth." _

_"Wow."_

_"You think?"_

_"Yes, I do. Which makes this even harder to say. Anna, just know that in life, there are peaks, and…"_

_"Ryan's not coming, is he?" _

_"Kind of took the wind out of my sails there, but yes. Are you okay?" _

_"I'll survive."_

And just like that, she had put on her brave face and moved on. There was no way in hell she was going to show any signs of weakness her first time in the midst of the Newport social scene, and Anna was well-practiced in hiding her emotions. Then she and Seth had started to talk, and suddenly the disappointment seemed to dissipate…but that didn't prevent her from catching a couple glances at Ryan during the dance, and he certainly did that tux justice…

Anna exhaled slowly and ran a hand through her hair: _OK, that answers the "When did I start liking Ryan" question. But why now?_

_Don't be stupid, girl,_ her mind responded. _You just dumped your boyfriend, Ryan was there to console you at your weakest moment, he's single for the time being…oh, and he's hot. For a rebound, you couldn't do much better._

_So where does that lead? Am I actually falling for my ex's brother?_

_Give me a break. Ryan's a nice guy and all, but it's not his mind or his heart that has you moaning in your sleep. It's called hormones, honey, and they work the same way for girls as they do for boys. This is not love; this is lust, pure and simple._

_And what about Seth,_ she thought. _How does that make me look, going from him to Ryan?_

_Who the hell cares what Seth thinks? His opinion lost its merit while he spent every waking moment wishing you were Summer. Stop with the over analysis, admit that you want him, and move on._

Shaking her head quickly, Anna opened her eyes and packed up her things. Facts were facts, and they were all pointing towards the same conclusion: 

She wanted Ryan.

She checked her watch: 5:30 pm. Walking towards the smoothie stand down the pier, she thought, _Well I know what I want…now all I have to do is figure out how to get it…_

The squeal of a bike braking snapped her out of her thoughts as she stood in line. Annoyed, she turned to see who would pull up right behind her, and found herself staring into bright blue eyes. _No fucking way._

"Hey."

"H-hi, Ryan," she sputtered out, caught completely off-guard.

He smiled softly. "Didn't see you at school. I was going to get your number from Seth and call to see if you were doing alright…"

_Oh god,_ she thought, looking away as she tried to hide her rapidly blushing cheeks. "Yeah, just didn't make it today."

"Decided to go for a run instead?" he questioned with a smile.

"Yeah, well, no…actually I just went and played a little tennis," she said, a corner of her mind now regretting the decision not to wear the whites. She looked up slowly to find Ryan…staring? _Oh my god,_ she thought while suppressing a grin, _is he actually checking me out?_

A pause ensued, neither sure how to proceed. 

"So, um, how are you?" Ryan offered tentatively.

The vendor called for Anna's order, affording her the opportunity to turn her back to Ryan as she answered, "Alright, I guess. Just been thinking a lot."

"Anything you want to talk about?"

"Not right now, but thanks," she replied, licking her lips quickly as she paid for her drink. Taking a deep breath and composing herself, she turned around to face Ryan again. "So what are you doing down here, on your bike no less?"

He chuckled softly before replying, "Ah, just enjoying the rest of afternoon before I lock myself in at the Cohen's for the weekend…I've got this big test for Mr. Schmitt's class on Monday."

"Mr. Schmitt…isn't he the pre-cal teacher with the, um…"

"Yeah, the mole is a little conspicuous."

The two smiled at the thought, then caught each other's eyes. Anna felt her body go warm, her mind started to race and before she knew it she said, "Well if you need any help studying, I've got no big plans." _Oh. My. God! What did you just do?!?_

Ryan blinked a couple of times, looking off to the side, then to the ground before speaking again.

 "Um, yeah, I think that might, um help," came the response. "How about tomorrow evening?"

Anna pursed her lips, not sure whether she should backpedal like mad or dive in headlong. She took a deep breath and said, "Sure. How's six?"

Ryan nodded. "Sounds good. I guess I'll…see you then…"

"Yeah…see you then."

Ryan smiled as he hopped back onto his bike and pedaled off down the boardwalk. Anna brought a hand to her mouth as she watched him leave, and then walked straight to her car. As she backed out and drove away, there was only one question in her mind:

_How the hell am I going to sleep tonight?_


End file.
